Electric locomotive



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet J. F. MGLAUGHLIN.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVB.

No. 424,810. Patented Apr. "l, 1890.

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet- 2. J.4 F. MoLAUG-HLIN.

ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

Patented Apr. l,A 1890.

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Patented Apr. v1, 1890.

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J. P. MGLAUGHLIN. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVB.

No. 424,810.A Patented Aplnl, 1890.l

Inventor,

` pendent conductors in the usual well-known UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC LOCOIVIOTIVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 424,810, dated April 1, 1890.

Application llexl January 2l, 1890.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Locomotives, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has reference to improvements in electric locomotives or street-railway cars propelled by electricity derived from a source mounted on the car, although my invention is equally applicable to such cases where the source of current is not carried upon the car, but is located at a distant station, and the current is conveyed to the traveling vehicle either by the rails or by indemanner.

My improvements are directed to electric locomotives so organized that before the vehicle is started the armature of the electric motor is freely rotated with no load thereon until it attains a great speed and generates a maximum of counter electro-motive force, at which time the motor-armature is gradually thrown into gear with the drivingwvheels. The advantage of this procedure is that a great amount of current which would otherwise be uselessly consumed in starting the motor with the full load on and before any counter electro-motive force is generated by the same is saved, it being a well-known fact that a great amount of current is required in bringing a motor-armature from the condition of rest to that of normal speed if the load for which the motor is designed is on.

The mechanism by which l attain the object of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is aplan viewof a truck equipped with my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudin-al section on line lfc a of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a side elevation, partly in section, of a portion of a motor-carhavingsccondarybatteriesmounted thereon, and showing the combined electric and clutch switch embodying my invention; Fig. 4, a similar view of a modification. Fig. f represcnts a vertical central section of a friction-clutch; Fig. G, a sectional elevation Serial No. 337,590. (No model.)

on line 'y y, Fig. 5, certain parts being removed to expose the friction-shoes and accessory parts; Fig. 7, an end view of the shifting mechanism with the shaft of the machine in section; Fig. S, a perspective view of the slice-carrier of the friction-clutch, and Fig. 9 an elevation of the shifting-collar of the same.

Lilie numerals of reference indicate like parts all throughout the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4," there is shown a car-frame l, with axles 2 2 and wheels 3, mounted in any ordinary or improved manner.

In Figs. 3 and i I have shown a plant of secondary batteries 4, mounted upon the car, and in this instance these secondary batteries are intended to furnish the current for the propulsion of the car. The car is propelled by an electric motor mounted in a frame 5, which is pivoted at one end upon a shaft (3, supported by brackets 7 7, depending from the under side of the truck-frame, as is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pivotal shaft 6 is arranged parallel with and as near as practicable to one of the wheel-axles 2, and preferably in a vertical plane directly above such axle, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the frame 5, extending toward the middle of the car, has its other end guided by a pin S, rising from the frame-work of the truck, and is cushioned between helical springs 9 9, placed upon the pin S. The frame 5 is thus allowed to have a slight vertical vibration under the jolting movement of the car, which is necessary to permit the gearing, hereinafter described, to accommodate itself to such movement.

The held-magnets lO of the electric motor (which may be of any improved pattern) are rigidly secured in the frame 5, and the armature l1 is j ournaled in the frame and has at one end a commutator l2 and at the other end a pinion 13, which meshes with a gear 14:, to which, for reasons which will presently appear, I give the name clutch-gear.7 This clutch-gear1i is norm allyloose upon a countershaft l5, also journaled in frame 5,and at the other end of the counter-shaft l5 is keyed a pinion 1G, which meshes with a gear-wheel 17, keyed upon the axle 2 of a pair of drivingwheels 8.

IOO

In a manner which will hereinafter be described the clutch-gear 14, which is normally looseupon the counter-shaft 15, can be made to engage and rotate said counter-shaft, and it will now be understood that so long as the clutch-gear is free to turn loosely upon the -counter shaft the armature may rotate at any speed without driving the car, so that there will be no load upon the motor, or practically no load upon the same, so long as the clutchgear is loose upon its shaft.

In connection with -what has hereinbefore been said it will now be clear that before starting the car I purpose to start the motor while the clutch-gear is free upon its shaft, allowing the motor-armature to attain a high speed and generate its maximum counter electro-motive force, and then to gradually clutch the gear 14 to the counter-shaft 15, thus avoiding the enormous and useless expenditure of current which would occur if the mo` tor were started with afull load thereon. By reason of the pivotal disposition of the frame 5, with its pivot very near and vertically above the axle of the driving-wheel, the vertical vibration of the frame 5, caused by the jolting movement of the car, will not cause a disengagementbetween pinion 16 and gear 17, the teeth of which are for this purpose made rather long, but not excessively so, since the vertical movement of the pinion 16 is` very small, owing to its proximity to the pivotal shaft 6, and also owing tothe proximity of said shaft to the axle 2.

The mechanism by which the clutch-gear is made to engage and disengage the countershaft 15 is fully illustrated in Figs. 5 to 9, inclusive; but since said mechanism has been made the subject of a separate application filed January 8, 1890, Serial No. 336,247, it will only be described here as a type of clutch mechanism which may be used without limiting myself to the use of the particular form shown.

The counter-shaft 15, which is designed to drive the vehicle to which my improvement is applied, has keyed upon it the clutch-carrier 1S, the same consisting of a central hub 19, from which extends a wide flange 20, from one face of which rises a series of spacingblocks 21. The adjacent sides of these spacing-blocks are parallel to each other, so as to leave guide passages or channels 22 between them. The sides of these channels being parallel, the spacing-blocks are not, strictly speaking, segmental or sectoral in outline, and for convenience of description they will hereinafter be referred to as spacingblocks simply. The flange 2O has also formed in it a number of elongated perforations or slots 23, one in each guide passage or channel, and these slots are undercut at one end on the face of the ange opposite to that from which the spacing-blocks rise, as indicated at 24. Upon this flange 20 are seated the clutch-shoes 25, which in general outline are T-shaped, as shown in Fig. 6, having a centra-l rectangular shank 26 and a segmental head 27, Whose bearing-face is curved upon a circle described about the axis of the hub and whose radius is equal to the radius of the interior bearing-face of the lian ged clutchgear 14, loosely mounted upon the hub 19 of the shoe-carrier. 'Ihe shanks 26 of the clutchshoes are received and are guided in the' guide passage or channel 22 its inner end will extend over and entirely cover the slot 23 in said guide-channel. The inner end of each shank is formed with a rib 28 rising from its exposed face, so that between said rib and the lateral extension of the head of the shoe beyond the shank, on the same side, there is formed a groove, and when all the clutch-shoes are in position these grooves collectively form an annulus for the reception of an annular guard-plate 29, screwed or otherwise fastened to the spacing-blocks 21. The inner end faces of the shanks 26 are beveled and curved, so as to form concave conesurfaces, as shown in section in Fig. 5 and indicated by appropriate shading in Fig. 6.' From each shank extends a pin 30 into the corresponding slot 23, and a helical spring 31, secured at one end to said pin and at the other end in the recess formed by the undercut portion 24 of the slot, tends to draw the clutchshoe inwardly. The clutch-gear 14 is recessed on one side to such depth and width that when said gear or pulley is in position upon the hub 19 the flange 2O and the spacing-blocks 21 of the shoe-carrier, together with the clutehshoes mounted therein, will be housed in the said recess, with the heads of the clutch-shoes close to but not touching the inner bearingface 14 of the clutch-gear; but when, by means presently to be described, the clutch-shoes are forced outwardly against the action of the springs 31 intimate frictional contact will be established between the bearing-faces of the clutch-shoes and the inner bearing-face of the clutch-gear, so that when the latter is rotated it will in turn rotate the clutch-shoes and all the parts conn ected therewith, and consequently the shaft 15, which then transmits motion to the driving-Wheels 3.

As a protection to the parts housed within the recess in the clutch-gear there is a cover 32, as shown in Fig. 5.

The shifting mechanism whereby the clutchshoes are made to engage the inner bearingface of the clutch-gear is also mounted on the shaft l5.

shaft, with an arm 34 extending from one end There is a sleeve 33 loose on the IOO of said sleeve into a fork 35, formed in a bracket 36, iiXed to the frame of the car,where by the sleeve 33 is prevented from being rotated with the shaft. The arm 34, however, is provided at its free end with an anti-friction roller 37 in order to ease the slight longitudinal movement of the sleeve 33, which cannot entirely be avoided, by the fixed collars 38 39 provided for this purpose. The sleeve 33 is screw-threaded on its outer surface, as shown, and screwed upon this sleeve is the shifter 40, consisting of a disk-shaped casting with the hubs 41 and 42 extending from the center thereof, one on each side of the disk. The hub 41 has formed in it a nut which is screwed upon the sleeve 33, while the hub 42 has a smooth inner bearing for the shaft 15 and a smooth outer bearing for a conical sleeve 43, which is retained on the hub 42 by a washer 44. Beyond the screw-threaded portion of the hub 41 the latter is excavated to afford room for the collar 38, as shown. In one position of the shifter upon the sleeve 33 the conical sleeve 43 extends between the conical surfaces at the ends of the shanks 26 such a distance that under the action of the springs 31 the clutch-shoes will be drawn inwardly with the bearing-faces of their heads out of contact with the bearing-face 14,of the clutch-gear 14, but with the conical surfaces at the ends of the shanks bearing upon the conical sleeve 43. This position is indicated in Fig. 5. lf, now, the shifter be turned so as to partially unscrew from the sleeve 33, the conical sleeve 43 will be forced inward between the ends of the shanks 26 and will force the bearing-faces of the shoes into frictional contact with the inner bearingface of the clutch-gear against the action of the springs 3l. Thus it will be seen that a slight turn of the shifter is sufficient to clutch the shaft 15 to the clutch-gear 14. When the shifter is turned, as just described, there will be an endwise thrust of the conical sleeve 43 upon the shifter and of the sleeve 33 upon the collar 39, and in order to avoid undue friction at these points ballbearings 45 and 46 are provided, the former between the end of the conical sleeve 43 and the shifter and the other between the sleeve 33 and collar 39.

Upon the disk portion of the shifter is formed a neck 47, which receives a ring-lever 48, from which an operative arm 49 extends, and which is designed to be actuated through the medium of a link or pitman from the platform of the car. This ring-lever is held upon the neck 47 by a ring-washer 51, screwed down upon the shifter by screws 52 or otherwise.

A number of holes 53 are arranged circumferentially in the rim of the shifter, and corresponding holes 54 are formed in the ringwasher 5l, while a single hole 55, formed in the ring-lever, may be brought in alignment with the holes 53 54 when the ring-lever is fixed in position upon the shifter by a bolt 56,

which passes through the three holes in alignment.

For convenience of operation it is desirable that the arm 49 of the ring-lever should always be in the same position relative to the other parts of the machine when the clutch is loose, so that there must be provision for maintaining that position notwithstanding the wear at the bearing-faces of the clutchshoes from continued use.

The arrangement of the circumferential holes 53 54 and the hole 55 in the ring-lever affords the necessary means of adjustment for wear, for if by such wear a limited movement of the ring-lever from its normal position should become insufficient to produce the clutching operationl it is only necessary to withdraw the bolt 56 and then shift the ringlever backward until the hole is in alignment with another pair of holes 53 54, when the bolt is again inserted and the original normal position of the arm 49 of the ring-lever may be re-established.

The operating link or pitman 50 is connected at one end with the ring-lever at the outer end of the arm 49 by means of an eye 57, provided for this purpose, and the other end of the pitman 50 is joined to a lever 58, which, on account of the double function which it serves,l call the switeh-and-elutch lever, and which is pivoted at the base of a segmental rack 59 and is provided with the usual locking-bolt 60, adapted to engage the notches formed on the upper edge of the segmental rack, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. When this switch-and-clutch lever is in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, the clutch is designed to be fully open, while when the lever 58 is in the position shown in solid lines the clutch is designed to be fully closed, while in the intermediate positions, near the position shown in full lines, the frictional connection between the clutch-gear 14 and the counter-shaft 15 will be imperfectly established, permitting a slip in the clutch if the load is too heavy for the power which the motor at that time has acquired.

To the lower edge of the segmental portion of the rack 59 are secured the metallic contact-blocks 61 62 62 62 63, insulated from one another and from the segmental rack, and upon the switch-and-clutch lever 58 is mounted a brush-block 64, arranged to make contact with the lower faces of the contact-blocks by means of a springhoused in a sleeve 65, formed on the lever 58. This spring is not visible in the drawings, nor is this necessary, since my invention is not dependent upon the use of an elastically-mounted brush-block, although such will be preferably used. The coils of the field-magnet are tapped in sections by conductors 66 66 66 67, time., and each of these conductors is extended to one of the contactblocks 62 62 62 63, the., as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4, although in the latter figure a lesser number of field-magnet-coil sections, and consequently a lesser number of contact- ICO ISO

blocks, is shown, and it will be understood that I do not pretend to limit myself to any particular numberof coil-sections for the held-magnet. One terminal of the secondary battery is connected with one commutatorbrush on the armature bya conductor 68, the other commutator-brush being connected by a conductor 69 with one terminal of the fieldmagnet coils, the other terminal of which being carried by the conductor 67 to the contact-block 63. The other terminal of the secondary battery is connected by a conductor 70 and a coiled portion 71 of,Y the same with the switch-and-clutch lever 58.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3, the operation of the mechanism will be easily understood. It will be seen that the contactblock 6l is not connected in the circuit of the motor. It is therefore an idle contact, and when the lever 58A is placed with the brushblock 64, bearing upon the idle contact 6l, the circuit of the motor is open, and, as has heretofore been explained, the clutch is also open. If, now, the lever 58 is moved toward the position shown in solid lines, and the brush-block 64 makes contact with the contact-block 62, the circuit, including the battery 4L and the motor, will be closed, but only fone section of the field-magnet coil-viz.,

the section included between conductors 66 and 69-will then be in the circuit, while in this position of the lever 58 the clutch will still be open, and consequently there will be no load upon the motor, and the armature will start and attain a high speed and generate a high counter electro-motive force. In this condition of the apparatus exceedingly little current is consumed. When, now, the lever 58 is turned farther toward the'position indicated in solid lines until its brush-block comes in contact successively'with the contact-blocks 62 62, dac., an increasing number of sections ot' the field-magnet coil will be successively included in the circuit of the battery and motor, and the clutch will begin to take hold and turn the counter-shaft l5,

thus putting the load upon the motor quiteY gradually, tending to lower the speed of the armature and to diminish its counter electromotive force. neutralized by the increasing power of the motor. When, finally, the brush-block 64 makes its first contact with the extended contactblock 63, all sections of the field-magnet coils will be in circuit, the motor will have attained its maximum power, and the clutch will now begin to take fairly and securely hold of the counter-shaft l5. A continued movement of the lever 58 until the locking-bolt 60 engages the last notch in the segment-al rack, as shown in Fig. 3, will complete the clutching action, and the car will now be driven with the full force of the motor.

In Fig. 4 I have indicated two electric motors, one .corresponding to the electric motor shown in Fig. 3 and the other arranged to act upon another pair of driving-wl1eels. This This tendency, however, is

second motor will be ordinarily controlled by f a lever 58', in conjunction Witha segmental rack 59 mounted upon the platform side by side with the segmental rack 59, and it may be used when in ascending grades, where an extra amount of power is required.

It will be seen by reference to Fig. 4. that the conductor 70, coming from one terminal of the battery and connecting with the lever 58, also connects with the lever 58', so that the conductor 70 becomes the common return for both motors, while the conductor connecting the field-coil of the auxiliary motor wit-h the contact-block 63 on the segmental rack 59 is marked in the drawings by the reference-numeral 67 It will be clear to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications of the mechanism herein shown and described may be made vention, and I therefore desire it to be understood that I do not mean to limit myself to the identical details of construction herein set forth.

Having now fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentv l. The combination of an electric motor and a clutch for connecting the armature of the same with the mechanism to be driven by the same, with a switch-lever controlling the Ycircuit of the motor, and mechanical connections between the lever and the clutch, whereby the motor'circuit and clutch are controlled by the same lever, substantially as described.

2. In an electric locomotive, the combination of an electric motor mounted upon a Wheeled vehicle and a clutch adapted to connect the armature of the motor with the driving-wheels of the vehicle, with a switch and lever for cont-rolling the motor-circuit, and connections between said lever and the clutch,

Vwhereby the motor circuit and clutch are controlled by the same lever, substantially as described.

3. In an electric locomotive, the combination of an electric motor having sectional iield-magnet coils mounted upon a wheeled vehicle and a clutch adapted to connect the armature of the motor with the driving-wheels of the vehicle, with a switch for successively including the sections of the field-coils in the circuit, yand a switch-lever mechanically connectedwith the clutch, whereby the power of the motor is gradually increased as the clutch is applied, substantially as described.

4. In an electric locomotive, the combination of an electric motor mounted upon a wheeled vehicle and a clutch adapted to connect the armature of the motor with the driving-wheels of the-vehicle, with a switch for controlling the motorcircuit, and a lever and connections of the same with the switch and 'without departing from the spirit of my in- IOO IIO

clutch, timed as described, whereby the motorcircnit will be closed in advance of the clutch, substantially as described.

5. In an electric locomotive, the combina-` between said lever and the clutch, whereby the motor circuit and clutch are controlled by the same lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my 15 name to this specicaton in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES F. MCLAUGHLIN. Witnesses:

H. F. REARDON, N. N. KREMER. 

